The archaeological site of Marina El-Alamein lies about 5 kilometers to the east of the modern town of El-Alamein (96 kilometers west of
Alexandria). It encompasses extensive remains of a harbor city from the
Greco-Roman period, which functioned from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD. Leukaspis was a large port town, with a population around 15,000. It was probably an important trading center between Egypt and
Libya, and appears to have been a major center for Cretian imports. The settlement was destroyed in 365, when
an earthquake off the coast of
Crete created a
tsunami. The town was not rebuilt, partially due to the crumbling state of the
Roman Empire. Leukaspis was lost until 1986, when a group of engineers who were building roads in Marina revealed ancient houses and tombs. of surrounding land was designated an archeological area, and excavations began in the 1990s. Prior to the site's discovery, the port area of the settlement was destroyed to make a man-made lagoon for a resort. The area of archaeological investigations and conservation work extends about a kilometer along the sea coast and 550 meters inland. The archaeological and architectural research revealed the layout of the ancient city; several areas were distinguished. In the center lay the main square surrounded by
porticoes, as well as Hellenistic and Roman
baths and a
basilica. The neighboring residential quarters were densely built-up. The port infrastructure (now destroyed) and storerooms were located to the north. A vast
necropolis and a second (early Christian) basilica were discovered in the southern part of the site. The necropolis functioned from the end of the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD. It is quite well-preserved and features an extraordinary variety of funerary monuments. Among the several dozen tombs of different form, there are types which had not been found in Egypt before or, if they had, were very badly preserved.
History of research Salvage excavations organized by the
Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities began in 1986. Since 1987, the PCMA UW has also carried out archaeological excavations – Wiktor A. Daszewski directed them until 2011. ==Tourism==